In our modern society, success is often associated with getting good grades, the degree one holds, and successful careers. While these factors to an extent define success, there are other aspects of a successful life that are often overlooked.
Success also means growing up into well-adjusted adults who are capable of navigating the hurdles, emotions, and unpredictability of everyday lives. A successful adult knows not just their bigger purpose but is capable of navigating the challenges and the ups and downs of life. Success is a derivative of emotional intelligence, resilience, social skills, intellectual ability, and strong work ethics.
As parents, understanding the multifaceted nature of success and guiding your child effectively towards success is of paramount importance. This article will provide a complete strategy to nurture success in children from a young age.
8 Strategies to Raise a Successful Child
1. Fostering a Growth Mindset
In a world that often glorifies innate talent, emphasizing the value of effort and persistence is crucial. A growth mindset does not attribute failure to a lack of talent or intelligence; rather, it sees failure as an opportunity to learn and improve. More importantly, a child raised with a growth mindset views success as a result of continuous effort, and therefore, it cultivates resilience and a never-give-up attitude.
When your child does well on their test, praise their effort and not their intelligence. Shifting the focus from outcome-based praise to acknowledging the effort and process instills a growth mindset.
Teach them to look at setbacks or failures as learning experiences. This will help them view any difficult task as a challenge that they can conquer with continuous effort and persistence over time. Finally, a growth mindset builds resilience, cultivates a strong work ethic, and fosters a willingness to persevere through challenges.
2. Stop Using Reward and Punishment as a Motivator
Traditional methods of using rewards and punishments have long been successful in keeping children motivated, especially in primary school. However, recent studies and insights conclude that rewards and punishments only create extrinsic motivation, which is not effective in the long term. Without the intrinsic motivation to learn and acquire knowledge, your child may eventually give up on the desire to learn when the external incentives are taken away.
Instead of relying on these external incentives, parents can nurture intrinsic motivation in their children. This involves tapping into their innate curiosity, interests, and desires to cultivate a genuine passion for learning and growth. Parents can also share their values to convey why learning is important to them in their life. By encouraging autonomy and providing opportunities for self-directed exploration, parents can inspire children to pursue their goals.
3. Practice Decision Making
It is natural for parents to have the urge to take on the role of problem solver or problem fixer in their child's life. By making decisions on behalf of their child, parents may inadvertently fail to adequately prepare them to navigate the complexities of adulthood.
Good decision-making comes with experience. It involves providing necessary support and guidance to navigate choices effectively.
Parents can practice decision-making along with their child. Guide them in how things can be done better. For example, when your child comes to you with a problem, such as an argument with a friend, give them a chance to use their own judgment instead of directly handing them solutions. One way to do this is by teaching them to consider the consequences and implications of their choices before making a decision.
Similarly, when it comes to solving homework and completing assignments, if parents become actively involved, the child may never develop the skills to become an independent learner. In addition to learning to be independent, having autonomy in managing their classes and homework is also a crucial motivator, particularly in relation to schoolwork.
4. Help Your Child Find Their Passion
Exploring interests can help your child discover a sense of identity and, eventually, build the confidence to pursue their dreams. When your child is following their interest or passion, it brings clarity regarding what truly matters to them and what they want to achieve in life. Moreover, passionate individuals are more likely to excel in their chosen fields, innovate, and make meaningful contributions to society.
Parents could also encourage their child to explore new things apart from their primary passion. Exposure to diverse activities cultivates a broad range of skills and perspectives that are necessary to navigate the fast-paced and ever-changing world.
5. Encourage Curiosity and Creativity
Humans, especially children, are inquisitive and curious beings. Encouraging children to ask questions, explore new ideas, and follow their interests fosters a lifelong love for learning and fuels creativity. When your child is encouraged to ask questions, you fuel their quest for knowledge and discovery that lasts with them for a lifetime.
Along with that, creating a supportive learning environment is essential for academic success. Fostering a positive atmosphere at home, collaborating with teachers, and providing access to resources and support systems nurtures a love for learning and academic achievement.
6. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence enables one to navigate social interactions, form relationships, and manage stress effectively. Therefore, emotional regulation is a cornerstone in leading a happy and successful life.
However, emotional regulation is not a skill we're born with. The best way to help kids nurture emotional intelligence is to model self-regulation tactics during interactions with children. Children learn to self-regulate primarily by observing the parents and seeing how they regulate themselves.
7. Challenge Them at Right Level
Kids have to be challenged at the right level. They tend to lose motivation to complete a task if it is too easy or too difficult.
If your child finds school work to be too easy, offer new courses for them to learn or enroll them in after-school programs outside of the school curriculum. And if schoolwork is too challenging for your child at their current level, work with the school or seek a tutor who may be able to guide your child through the learning curve. It is best to work with a mentor who can offer challenges within their current capabilities and provide them with feedback to keep improving their skills and capabilities.
8. Measure Them Against Themselves
It is natural to feel the need to constantly compare one's performance with others. However, no two kids have the same capabilities, and therefore their wins or achievements cannot be measured with the same scale of success.
At home, parents can use language that focuses on what their child has achieved in a relative period of time rather than focusing on the achievements of other kids. The best way to do this is by setting personal goals. Setting meaningful and achievable goals based on their individual interests and passions prompts them to assess their own progress and achievements. Teaching children to measure themselves against themselves reinforces the idea that success is measured by personal growth and improvement.
Are you interested in a program that can help guide your child on a journey of discovering their passion, exploring interests, developing fundamental skills, and finding a fulfilling career potential?
Crimson Rise’s academic accelerator program can help your pre-teen achieve their highest potential while assisting in securing admission to their dream university. We work one-on-one with our students to help develop a customized academic pathway for your child and build skills across multiple domains, including academics, soft skills, and extracurriculars, and more!
Book a free consultation with our academic advisor to learn more about your child’s untapped potential.
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